Multiple NFL teams may have an eye on trading for Los Angeles Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack.
According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Mack has several suitors for a potential trade around the league, and the Chargers might be willing to listen in order to make some needed room in the team's salary cap.
Mack, who just turned 33 years old, is coming off of a career-high season in sacks, earning 17 in 2023. After missing most of the 2021 season, Mack has not missed a game over the past two years. Those sack numbers and a couple of healthy seasons are good reasons why teams would want to add Mack to their defense in 2024.
The Chargers, meanwhile, are around $30 million over the cap and desperately need to create some room heading into the 2024 season. One move they could do is release Mack straight up to save $23 million, but they would be on the hook for $15 million in dead money.
Being on the hook for that kind of money would not be preferable, but it would be much more tolerable for the Chargers if they could trade Mack instead and at least generate some sort of return.
One thing Chargers fans should note is that the team may not be able to earn as much out of a trade for Mack as they would like. While Mack's talent is certainly worth a Day 2 pick (rounds 2-3), the team may not be able to get more than a Day 3 pick (rounds 4-7) out of him. That's mainly because of his age and high cost that the trading team would inherit.
Still, a trade may be worth it for L.A. to clear up some cap room and earn extra draft capital.
More must-reads: